NATO head Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have addressed the situation in the Iran war on Monday in separate statements in support of the Israeli and U.S. air force bombing targets in Iran.
“My biggest fear would be for Iran to own and be able to use and deploy a nuclear weapon to build a stranglehold on Israel, on the whole region and other parts of the world,” said Rutte, who also highlighted Iran is “heavily involved” in the war in Ukraine, supporting Russia.
Speaking in the name of the whole NATO bloc, Rutte emphasized the Alliance has long been wary of Iran and approves deterring Tehran from building a nuclear weapon.
German Chancellor Merz also came out in support of the joint operations against Iran. It’s not his first time taking a much more assertive side than other EU leaders. Previously, Merz has thanked Israel for the “dirty work Israel is doing for all of us.”
The Chancellor approved the U.S. strikes on Iran citing concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. According to Merz, leaving the situation as is would be a bigger risk than acting out against it with military action.
